Earth boring machine



Jan. 18, 1938. E. DARNELL ET AL EARTH BORING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 18, 1936 ORS INVENT `AKTTORMSY E. `DARNELL ET AL EARTH BORING MACHINE Jan. 18, 1938.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Figed July 18, 193e UNlTE ST PATENT` @iiiE EARTH BORING MACHINE Eugene Darnell and Henry L. Enoch, Kansas City, and Joel N. Grubb, Chillicothe, Mo., and Albert E. Freeman, South Grange, N. J., assignors t American Telephone and Telegraph Company, a corporation of New York Application July 18, 1936, Serial No. 91,434

4 Claims. (Cl. Z55-46) This invention relates to drilling machines hand-wheel may be used to control the rate of adapted more particularly for boring holes in the speed for raising or lowering the auger. By holdearth in which poles or posts may be installed. ing the hand-wheel while the auger shaft is One of the objects of the invention consists in rotating, the auger will feed automatically. By

5 the provision of a portable device of the above exerting a greater turning movement on the 5 character which may be operated from a power hand-wheel, additional thrust on the auger and unit such, for instance, as a motor of automotive linear speed of the auger shaft is increased. If apparatus or the like. the auger shaft is not rotated, the hand-wheel Another object consists in the provision of apmay be used to boost the raising power when an paratus whereby holes may be bored in any deobstruction is met, or the hand-wheel may be 10 sired direction. used as a sole means for raising the auger.

Another object is to provide an earth boring More specifically, the earth boring apparatus machine whereby the boring operations may be of this invention is connected to a power unit easily, quickly and accurately performed. which may be assumed, for the purpose of descrip- A further object is to provide an improved contion, as being an automobile motor, power taketrol system for feeding or raising the auger. off or winch shaft associated with the said motor.

These and further objects will be apparent The earth boring apparatus may be positioned from the following description, when considered some distance away from the power unit by which in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is operated. For instance, in the case of power in which one embodiment of the invention is being derived from, the motor of an automobile illustrated. truck, the truck may be positioned at the side of Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevaa road, while the boring apparatus may be located tion, partly in section, of the auger rack and adistance therefrom, as in an adjacent field. The drive shaft and associated gearing; power connection may be made by means of a Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. drive shaft 5, one end of which is adapted to be 25 1 showing the hand-wheel and associated apattached to a shaft from which power is transparatus in clutched position; mitted, and the other end of which enters a cas- Fig. 3 is a section taken on the lineA 3 3 of Fig. ing 6 to operate the boring machine which will be 1 showing the drive sprockets and associated presently described. The drive shaft 5 is provided shafts of the device; with a universal joint at each end, and one of 30 Fig. 4 is a section of the auger rack and asthese joints is shown (Figs. 1 and 6) adjacent the sociated elements taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 casing at 1. The shaft 5 extends through a co1- looking in the directions of the arrows; lar 8 (Fig. 6) which is pivotally connected to the Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing Casing 6 by a pair of hinged straps 9. By this arthe adjustable supports from which the improved rangement the shaft 5 is pivoted to permit level- 35 device is adapted to be suspended; ing of the auger, as will presently appear.

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the exterior of The drive shaft 5 is connected through the the improved boring machine assembly in mountuniversal joint I to an alined shaft I3 journaled ed Position UDCH tS SHIJDOTS; and in the casing 6. The shaft I3 carries a keyed Fig. '7 is an elevation of the control lever by gear IB, which gear constantly meshes with gear 4,0 Which the auger shaft may be operated to boring I I loosely carried by shaft I2. Shaft I3 can be and raising positions; the lever being turned 90 also connected to an alined shaft I3' through the from its true position for the sake of clearness. medium of a jaw clutch Id when it is desired to The true position of the lever is indicated by raise the auger A. A sprocket I5 is attached to dotted lines in Fig. l. the outer end of the shaft i3', as shown in Fig. 1, 45 The earth boring machine of this invention and a roller chain i6 connects the sprocket I5 comprises in general a standard or support on with apair of sprockets Il, Il which are mounted, which mechanism is carried for controlling the respectively, on parallel shafts I3 and I8 as more raising and lowering of the auger shaft. This Clearly indicated in Fig. 3. The roller chain and shaft consists of a cylindrical rack bar or auger sprockets may be suitably enclosed by a removable shaft which has a continuous worm out in its Cover. The shafts I8 and I8 carry keyed worm surface. An auger is carried on the end of the Wheels I9, I9 which are diametrically positioned shaft. Meshing with the continuous worm on on and mesh with and drive the cylindrical rack the auger shaft are two worm wheels located on bar or auger rack 2U having spiral threads. A diametrically opposite sides of said shaft. A tube T is aflixed to the casing and encircles the CII upper portion of the auger rack. An auger A is attached to the lower end of the auger rack bar. The attached auger may be of any well-known or suitable design. A shaft 2| provided with a sprocket is eccentrically mounted in the casing 6' which casing is bolted to the lower casing 6. The shaft 2| is positioned above the parallel shafts i8 and IB and is used to take up slack which may be present in the chain I6.

A hand-wheel 22 is carried by the casing 5 and serves to raise or lower the auger Aand its rack 20 by hand power when desired. The wheel may be turned by hand while the auger and its rack are being raised by power, so that manual effort can be used to boost the power drive inl case an obstruction is met in the raising operation. TheV hand-wheel is also used to force the auger into the ground by applying manual effort in the opposite direction to that required for raising, as will later appear. 23 which shaft also carries a worm 24, and the worm 24 meshes with a drivingworm wheel 25 which is keyed to the end of shaft I8 (Figs. 2 and 3). A concentric shaft 23 is rotatably and slidably mounted within the shaft 23 and a knob 43 is carried at its outer end. By pulling this knob outwardly, against the pressure exerted by a spring 6|, to a position in which it may be rotated 90, the outer and inner clutches 49 and 49', respectively, may be disengaged. When the clutches are thus disengaged, the wheel 22 may be used to manually control the raising or lowering of the rack shaft 20. When clutch 49 is engaged, it prevents lowering or raising of the auger shaft when it is not rotating, as when the apparatus is being transported.

To rotate the auger rack shaft 20 and :auger A, the drive continues from drive shaft 5 through shaft |3, gear I and gear Il through engaged jaw clutch 26 on shaft |2. A circular rack 2l is splined to the shaft I2, which drives worm 28 which is rigidly keyed to shaft |2. The worm 28 drives worm wheel 28', which is keyed to the auger rack bar sleeve 29which in turn drives the auger rack 20 by means of parallel keys 3| (Fig. 4). The keys 3| engage in the longitudinal keyways 20 of the auger rack, whereby the latter element is rotated, and. said keys also permit the auger rack to slide upand down thereon.

The engagement and disengagement of the jaw clutches I4 and 26 are accomplished by rotating lever 32 so that the spring actuated detent 5d engages in detentpositions in the lever, whereby the auger'is connected to a raising or to a boring position, respectively. The lever 32 is attached to the outer or extended end of shaft 33 and is provided with three detent positions near one pivoted end. The detent 54 selectively engages withthe detent positions which maintain the lever in the position desired. For instance, in the raising operation the lever will be rotated so that the detent 54 engages in detent position 51. In the boring o-peration the detent 54 engages in detent position T. The detent engages the central detent position when the lever is moved to a neutral position. The shaft 33 which carries the lever is journaled in the casing 5 at right angies to the auger rack 29 and to the shafts l2 and i3'. Small gears 32 and 35 are carried by the shaft 33 and mesh with circular racks 36 and 21 which are carried on shafts I3 and 2, respectively. The racks 36 and 21 form. parts of the clutches- I4 and 26, respectively, associated'with these latter shafts. The gear 35 is keyed on the shaft 33 and the gear 34 is loosely carried by said This hand-wheel 22 is mounted on shaft shaft. A spring 55 is also carried on the shaft 33 between the gears 34 and 35 and is attached to these gears. When the lever 32 is rotated to the raising position or in a counter-clockwise direction it causes the rotation of gear Sli which slides circular rack 35 to the left (Fig. l) and forces the jaw clutch Hi into engagement. If the jaws 0f clutch I2 are not in position to engage with each other, the spring 55 winds up and stores torque so that when the jaws of said clutch are in a position to engage, pressure is exerted by the spring to cause this engagement. When power is applied underV this condition the shaft 5 causes the rotation of shafts i3 and i3 andthe sprocket i5 is driven, which in turn drives chain i@ and the sprockets Il, i 1, thereby driving shafts i8 and I8. The worm wheels i9, i9, which are carried on the shafts IB and i8', respectively, are rotated'to drive the auger shaft 29 to raise the auger to a desired height.

The casing 6 and its associated upper casing 6 are suspended from trunnions 38 formed on the ends of U-shaped arm 39. This arm is adapted to be quickly attached to or detached from a tan pered support l0 (Figs. 5 and 6) The tapered key il locks the arm in the attached position. The support 40 is attached to pivot di which swivels in a casting 52, carried on the main support d3. This main support is attached to aV casting lill, which rests on the ground. The leveling of the auger in one direction is accomplished byV turning a threaded pipe e5 which also acts as a tension or compressionmember during the boring operations. A small hand-wheel (not shown) may be added to the pipe (i5, if desired, to facilitate its rotation. The leveling in the other direction is accomplished by properly positioning the brace d6, the top of which is pivoted between parallel lugs 3l extending from casting 22.

In the operation of the improved device, the standard or support is set up at the desired location, andthe boring case is then attached to the standard as just described. As .previously mentioned, the machine can be operated at'any desired distance from the source of power within the range or length of the shaft to which the shaft 5 is coupled. This range may be relatively large.

After the machine is set up and leveled, as outlined above, knob 48 is pulled out from the handwheel 22 as previously described to disengage jaw clutches 49 and 49 (Fig. 2) and turned 90, as indicated by the arrow, to hold the jaw clutches 49 and 49 in a disengaged position During this operation the wheel 22 can be turned to relieve the pressure on jaw clutches i9 and 49. By releasing the hand-wheel 22 the auger shaft 29 and its associated auger A will then drop to the ground. Lever 32 is now rotated clockwise from a neutral position, where the detent 54 was engaged in the middle detent position to a boring position, where the detent engages detent position 5l. When the lever 32 is rotated to this position, it causes the shaft 33 to rotate also. As gear 35 is also on this shaft it also rotates at this time in a direction to cause circular rack 21 which is meshed therewith to move to the left along the splined portion of shaft |2 and thus cause the engagement of jaw clutch 28 (Figs. 1 and 4). Power is now applied to shaft 5 to cause its rotation, which power is transmitted through gears ||l and I through jaw clutch 26 to shaft |2, worm 23 and worm wheel 23', sleeve 29 through keys 3|, thus rotating the auger shaft 2|) as outlined above. By applying a turning force to the hand-wheel 22 in the direction indicated by the arrow for boringj the auger is forced into the ground as it rotates. After boring to suicient depth, the power is shut off and lever 32 is rotated counter-clockwise to its neutral position and back to a raising position where the detent 54 engages in detent position l. The shaft i3 is now engaged through jaw clutch It, and power is again applied to raise the auger with its load of dirt. If an obstruction is met during the raising operation, or in case a heavy pull is encountered at the start, the handwheel 22 can be rotated in the direction shown by the arrow marked raising," thereby boosting the power application for raising the auger.

When the auger is raised slightly above the ground, the knob 48 of wheel 22 is rotated 90 from the position mentioned above and released, thus engaging the clutches 49 and 49' to prevent the auger from dropping to the ground when the power is shut off. The power being shut off, the auger is swung away from the operator by pulling the tube T encircling the upper part of the auger rack 2S, thereby rotating the boring machine on pivot lll (Figs. 5 and 6). This tube is pulled toward the operator until the auger rack 2l] and its associated auger A lie at an angle of about 45 degrees. In this position the cam 53 will engage the ratchet62 which is keyed on pivot i and thus hold the auger at said angle. The hands of the operator are now released for the next operation. At this time dirt may be removed from the auger. The operator rotates the handle 32 in a clockwise direction until detent 54 engages in the middle or neutral position in the handle, thus disengaging the jaws of the clutch l, in case there is no pressure on these jaws. If pressure is present in the jaws, the spring 55 stores up the turning motion which disengages said jaws when the pressure is relieved by turning wheel 22.

To restore the auger and shaft to a vertical position at this time, the handle 59 is rotated and the spring 64 is wound tightly about the shaft 53. The plate 65 at the end of the shaft 63 also rotates, and spring 56 is thrown over center, holding lever 59 in this position. The operator now pulls on tube T, thus relieving the pressure of cam 53 on ratchet 62. Spring Eli unwinds and throws cam 53 out of its engaged position with ratchet 52. The operator then lowers the auger and shaft to a vertical position over the hole. As the auger shaft approaches the vertical position, ratchet 62, which carries the pin (i, engages and trips handle 59 and resets the mechanism so that cam 53 will again automatically engage the ratchet 62 when the auger shaft is swung oif the vertical position. The spring 55 is thus restored to its normal position. When in this position the boring operation may be repeated as described above.

After the hole is dug, the auger is raised to a carryingposition, and knob 8 of hand-wheel 22 is rotated 90, permitting spring 6i to force the jaw clutches i9 and 59' into engagement, thereby preventing the auger from dropping while being carried.

In dismantling the machine the procedure just outlined is, of course, the reverse of that above described in connection with the operation of setting it up.

What is claimed is:

1. In an earth boring machine, a shaft carrying an auger, said shaft having a spiral thread on its external surface, a worm Wheel engaging said spiral thread, means to impart rotation to said shaft whereby said worm wheel acts as a nut engaging the external thread of said shaft to feed the shaft longitudinally as it is rotated, means whereby power may be applied to said worm wheel when the shaft is not rotated to move said shaft longitudinally by a rack and pinion action, and a hand-wheel for rotating said worm wheel to supplement the action of the driving power applied to the worm wheel.

2. In an earth boring machine, a pivotally mounted casing, an auger shaft having a spiral thread on its exterior surface and being longitudinally movable in said casing in boring and in raising positions, oppositely positioned worm wheels engaging said spiral thread to raise the auger shaft by a rack and pinion action, means to impart rotation to said shaft so that with said worm wheels engaging the threads of the shaft it will be fed in a boring direction as it is rotated, a power shaft, driving connections for the worm wheels, and driving connections for said last mentioned means, and a clutch to engage either of said driving connections with the power shaft.

3. In an earth boring machine, a pivotally mounted casing thereon, an auger shaft having a spiral thread on its exterior surface and being longitudinally movable in said casing in boring and in raising directions, oppositely positioned worm wheels engaging said spiral thread to raise the auger shaft by a rack and pinion action, means to impart rotation to said shaft so that with said worm wheels engaging the threads of the shaft it will be fed in a boring direction as it is rotated, a power shaft, driving connections for the worm wheels and driving connections for said last mentioned means, a clutch to engage either of said driving connections with the power shaft, a control handle to move said clutches into their respective engagements, and a hand-wheel for operating said auger shaft in each direction when the clutches are disengaged from said power shaft, said hand-wheel also serving to supplement the operation of said auger shaft in each direction when the power shaft is engaged with respective driving connections,

4. In an earth boring machine, a casing, an auger shaft having a spiral thread on its exterior surface and being longitudinally movable in said casing in boring and in raising positions, oppositely positioned worm wheels engaging said spiral thread to raise the auger shaft by a rack and pinion action, means to impart rotation to said shaft so that with said worm wheels engaging the threads of the shaft it will be fed in a boring direction as it is rotated, a power shaft, driving connections for the worm wheels and driving connections for said last mentioned means, a clutch to engage either of said driving connections with the power shaft, and means for pivotally mounting said casing whereby said auger may be adjusted to desired angular positions.

EUGENE DARNELL. HENRY L. ENOCI-I. JOEL N. GRUBB. ALBERT E. FREEMAN. 

